Norwell police hold barbecue for local seniors

NORWELL – The town’s finest flipped burgers and grilled hot dogs under cloudy skies on Monday afternoon at the Norwell Council on Aging’s third annual Police BBQ.

Six officers, including Police Chief Ted Ross, served food to local seniors and watched retired State Police Sgt. Daniel M. Clark, the “singing trooper," provide entertainment.

“We’ve always been interested in community partnerships so we reached out to both police and fire to see if we could get something together,” Susan Curtin, the council’s director, said. “This is just meant to be a fun, social event for us.”

The police department provided the hamburgers and hot dogs and spent the afternoon at the grill before seniors dined inside the center. Side dishes were provided by council volunteers.

“For years we’ve had a senior liaison who comes down to talk to seniors about issues that are affecting them and it’s been good to have that connection,” Ross said. “This is just another chance to get some officers down here and talking to residents.”

About 50 seniors showed up for the event, which was free. Norwell residents were given priority reservations; after that, the event was open to residents of surrounding towns.

“I want to get more involved with the council. I have done a couple of classes here,” said Susan Solis of Norwell.

Former Elder Affairs Officer Sean Sutton used Monday’s event to get his kids involved in the community.

“We come to visit Mimi,” said 11-year-old George Sutton, whose great-grandmother was a guest at the barbecue.

“We try to make it more family oriented here,” said Sean Sutton. “We all try to come out when we’re around for a good effort.”